With a much-needed victory on Saturday night in Las Vegas, NV, Ryan Garcia put together a performance of a lifetime as he earned a dominant unanimous decision (119-108, 120-107 & 118-109) over Mario Barrios live on DAZN PPV.
Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) earned his first world title as Barrios (29-3-2, 18 KOs) did not have any answers for Garcia’s offense. After the fight, Garcia called out Shakur Stevenson to be his next fight.
Garcia came out firing on all cylinders early in the first round as he landed an overhand right that sent Barrios crashing down. Barrios got back up, but Garcia was all over him with left hooks to the body and head, while also landing more overhand rights. Barrios could not find his rhythm.
In the second round, Barrios regained his composure and started leading with his left jab, followed by a left hook of his own. Garcia continued to work on Barrios’s body while constantly throwing that big left hook. In the third round, Barrios was confused about where the punches were coming from as Garcia landed overhand rights, left hooks to the head and body, and a right uppercut on Barrios. Garcia also kept the fight outside of midrange and used his left jab to set everything up.
In the fourth, Garcia kept pressuring Barrios by landing huge right hands that Barrios couldn’t defend or see coming. Garcia was doing whatever he wanted throughout the round as Barrios struggled to get going. In the fifth, Garcia kept the onslaught going as Barrios took hits from all directions. Garcia’s defense and movement frustrated Barrios as he followed him around the ring without throwing any punches. Garcia also had Barrios hurt a few times during the round.
Rounds six through twelve were all Garcia, as Barrios couldn’t find a way to win any of those rounds. Garcia’s performance propels him straight to the top of the division.
Mario Barrios vs. Ryan Garcia Undercard Results
Gary Antuanne Russell (19-1, 17 KOs) had to dig deep, but he was able to secure a unanimous decision victory over Andy Hiraoka (24-1, 19 KOs). The judges scored this one 117-110, 116-111, and 116-111 for Russell, who defended his WBA 140 lb crown and looks toward bigger fights for the rest of the year.
Frank Martin (19-1-1, 13 KOs) and Nahir Albright (17-2-1, 7 KOs) backed up all their fight week trash talk and put on a great fight. Unfortunately, the judges couldn’t decide a winner, as all three scored it 95-95, resulting in a unanimous draw.
Bektemir Melikuziev (17-1, 11 KOs) scored a dominant seventh-round TKO over Sena Agbeko (29-5, 23 KOs). Although Melikuziev had cuts on both of his eyebrows, Bek landed a right hook by Agbeko’s ear, which caused him to wobble. Bek finished with a straight left hand that knocked down Agbeko, and after he beat the count, Bek landed another straight left. The referee stopped the fight with two seconds remaining in the round.
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